Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
(This article was originally published in Newschecker Hindi by Shubham Singh)
A post claiming that the Supreme Court has recognised a petition seeking action against those who verbally abuse the Brahmin community under the Atrocities Act is going viral on social media platforms. Newschecker found that no such plea has been accepted by the apex court and the viral claim is fabricated.
The viral post, which is being circulated in Hindi, reads “Supreme Court has given a big decision, those who verbally abuse the Brahmin community will be charged under the Atrocities Act.” It further adds that the court gave this judgement while hearing a petition filed by an advocate in this regard. Several Facebook users have shared the post believing it to be true.
Links to such posts can be found here, here and here.
What Is The Atrocities Act?
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 was enacted by the Indian government to stop the atrocities against these communities and eliminate the widespread discrimination.
The demand for amendments in the act has been raised repeatedly over the years as can be seen here and here. Protests and demonstrations have also been carried out for the same.
On March 20, 2018 in the Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs State of Maharashtra case, a Supreme Court bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit had ruled that no arrests can be made under the act without prior permission. It also held that a court can grant a pre-bail arrest (anticipatory bail) if it, prima facie, finds the complaint is an abuse of the law, false, motivated and intended to blackmail or harass a person.
Following this, a review petition was filed with the Supreme Court and a three-judge Bench of Justices Arun Mishra, MR Shah and BR Gavai recalled the March 20, 2018 verdict.
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Fact Check/Verification
We conducted certain keyword searches on Google but did not come across any media report on the apex court’s alleged decision to expand the scope of the Atrocities Act to the Brahmins. Further online portals dedicated to legal news – Live Law and Bar and Bench– did not carry any such articles either.
Following this, we looked up the official website of the Supreme Court of India which was devoid of any judgement that recognised a plea seeking action against those who abuse Brahmins under the Atrocities Act.
Newschecker Hindi team also reached out to Supreme Court advocate Anurag Ojha who refuted the claim. Ojha clarified, “The Supreme Court has not taken any decision to charge anyone with the Atrocities Act for abusing Brahmins. This claim is completely wrong. This act was brought in place keeping in view the constitutional measures mentioned in Article 15 (Prohibition of Discrimination), Article 17 (Abolition of Untouchability) of the Constitution. Without eliminating untouchability from society, we will not be able to bring equality.”
Conclusion
Viral post claiming that the Supreme Court has approved a plea seeking action against those who abuse Brahmins under the Atrocities Act is false.
Result: False
Sources
Official Website Of The Supreme Court Of India
Telephonic Conversation With Supreme Court Advocate Anurag Ojha
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
